Noa sat on the hill at the outskirts of the village, his mind conflicted between keeping the boy safe and remembering the words of both Proximus and Raka. What if the boy could be dangerous, but what if his clan could raise him to be one of them. Did Caesar do that? He wondered about Caesar, was Raka right about humans? Could some be loving and kind? He remembered the tears Mae had shed the last day that he saw her, but those thoughts were quickly replaced with how Mae left him and his clan to die in the vault flooding.
Ethan sat with Amara close to the pylons “why does your clan have all of these birds?” he asked, glancing at the clan members with their eagle companions.
Amara smiled “we raise them... sing to them... create a bond”
“Do you have an eagle?”
Amara sighed “not yet... I need to be... older for that”
Ethan turned to her and showed a look of sympathy “your village is beautiful, Amara”
She smiled and thanked him.
The evening came quickly, as the sun started to set behind the trees, the clan ate their last meal of the day. Noa sat with Anaya and the other males whilst he closely watched Amara and Ethan, who were sat with the other youngsters, chattering and laughing together. He could see how close his daughter was becoming with the human, and that caused mixed emotions to circulate.
Dar and Soona sat together, speaking quietly between themselves, but Dar noticed her sons worrying, she looked at Soona.
“Please... make sure my son... stays grounded” she put down her bowl of food “his mind... can get messy... you know this”
Soona nodded, accepting Dar’s worries “I will make sure... do not worry” she managed a smile.
Some other villagers stared at the human, raised eyebrows, and scowls between them as they murmured. Noa scrunched up his face “enough!” his voice boomed, and again, the village went quiet.
Anaya turned to Noa, a slight smile on his face. “Noa... maybe... the human is not... so bad”
Noa shot him a stern glance, and then his expression slowly softened “I... do not know... what to do”
Anaya put a hand on Noa’s shoulder “give him... some time... what did Raka tell you?”
Noa’s gaze fell to the ground “but what did... Proximus say, also?”
The pair of them looked at the boy and then exchanged some cautious glances.
Nightfall came, Noa sat upright in his nest whilst Soona slept beside him. Amara and Ethan slept close together, and Noa watched. His eyes locked on Ethan as he shuffled closer to his daughter, reaching a hand reach up to begin twirling her fur with his fingers. Noa scowled at him for a moment, then, letting out a grunt, he stood up and headed down the pylon.
He paced back and forth on the grassy ground below, trying to think what and how to tell the younger generations in the village the full story, thinking of how he could prepare them if anything really were to happen. Now that they had a human boy in the village, what if the humans came to retrieve the boy? He frowned, remembering the horrendous sound of the gunshot that Mae had fired in the vault that day. The sounds echoed in his mind. He thought about his daughter. If she were to be put into a situation like that, he couldn’t bear the thought of it.
“Noa?” a voice softly called from behind him.
Noa spun around quickly to see who it was “Soona, you’re... awake?”
She nodded “I was... awake the whole time”
“Any trouble?” Noa asked quickly, glancing around.
“No, Noa... all is silent... and calm” Soona’s brows lowered slightly at seeing her husband’s worried expression “what is wrong?”
Drooping his head, Noa grunted “I am... worried, Soona... what if... what if humans come here... for the boy... attack our village... our daughter?”
“They... have not attacked... yet” Soona shrugged “the echo said... his family left... never returned” she tilted her head “you have not... worried like this for... many moons, Noa”
He looked at her, distress etching at his face “I have seen... how close Amara and... the human... have become”
Soona narrowed her eyes “did Raka... not tell you that... not all humans... are bad?” she smiled warmly, showing understanding “Noa... we will... be okay... I am sure... Let us get sleep now
Noa didn’t reply. He followed her to their nest in silence. He was too busy thinking of what to say to the elders and hoping he would get a good enough sleep.
YOU ARE READING
Conflicted minds
FanfictionEight years had passed since the previous events with Mae. Noa had become a great leader, flourishing after his father, he had decided not to speak about the humans, feeling it was better to just avoid the topic all together and now raising a daught...
